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Charges dismissed against two people arrested in "Brown ICE" drug investigation

DA says key evidence in case is missing

By The Daily Times Staff

Updated:
08/25/2014 07:49:00 PM MDT

FARMINGTON — Charges have been dismissed against two local residents arrested as a result of the "Brown ICE" criminal investigation conducted by the Region II Narcotics Task Force.

Charges against Amy Oros, 24, and Cimmaron Archuleta, 32 were dismissed, but a prosecutor says they can be refiled at a later date.

Oros, of Farmington, was charged in Farmington Magistrate Court with child abuse and two drug-related charges in February 2014. She was one of 29 people initially charged in state and federal court as a result of the year-long investigation. Archuleta, of Bloomfield, was charged in Farmington Magistrate Court with multiple drug-related charges, including possession of a controlled substance, trafficking and drug sales.

According to a motion filed Friday, prosecutors dismissed the cases because it was "in the best interest of justice."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien said that his office does not yet have the key piece of evidence, recordings from a federal wire tap, that were used to obtain a search warrant in the case. Since that evidence cannot be turned over to the defendants, who filed motions in June requesting that the evidence be suppressed, the case had to be dismissed.

He said that charges can be refiled once his office receives the evidence.

Both Oros and Archuleta were represented by Arlon Stoker of the Stoker Law Firm. Deputy District Attorney David Patrick Cowen prosecuted both cases.

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